From the Back Pages, March 14: England bring in Mako Vunipola to replace Joe Marler for Italy showdown

From the back pages

Published:21:52Thursday 13 March 2014

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Mako Vunipola has been drafted in to start at loosehead prop in England’s final Six Nations championship game against Italy after Joe Marler’s partner went into labour. (The Telegraph)

Lewis Hamilton admitted it has felt like “a lifetime” since he last won the world title in 2008, writes Byron Young in Melbourne. But the 29-year-old was speaking as he was installed as bookies favourite to finally do it again this season. (The Mirror)

Horses are seldom slaves to the stories we create for them. Cheltenham’s headline act was supposed to be a duel between the peerless old champion and the glamorous young pretender. It ended with Big Buck’s retired and Annie Power no longer invincible. A riveting Ladbrokes World Hurdle was instead won by another unbeaten but less celebrated contender in More Of That. (The Times)

Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil has revealed in a post on his official Facebook account that he picked up the injury which forced him off at half-time during Arsenal’s 1-1 Champions League draw at Bayern Munich on Tuesday night in only the second minute of the match. (The Independent)

Liverpool owner John W Henry knows good value when he sees it - he must offer Brendan Rodgers a new deal. Liverpool’s transformation into title contenders within the space of 12 months can be put down almost entirely to Brendan Rodgers’s ‘coaching and training’, writes Chris Bascombe (The Telegraph)

The Football Association have decided against appealing against the length of Nicolas Anelka’s five-match ban, issued by an independent commission for his anti-Semitic gesture. (The Express)

Michael Lumb’s career-best Twenty20 batting, and some spectacular late hitting from Chris Jordan, ensured England’s highest score of the series against West Indies at the Kensington Oval. (The Express)